Stewart Group

Planet Formation and Evolution

Graduate student Simon Lock and Sarah Stewart describe a new type of planetary object that is created by a giant impact: a synestia. This structure is not like a planet or a traditional planet with an orbiting disk, it something distinct that has different internal structure and dynamics than other planetary objects.

Where did the word synestia come from?
The name synestia means connected structure. The word is derived from Hestia, the Greek goddess of the hearth, home, architecture and syn means together.

The initial shape of an impact-generated synestia is a biconcave disc. A synestia will change shape as it cools over time.

Image by Simon Lock.

Sarah Stewart’s research group investigates the formation and evolution of planetary bodies. Our primary techniques are shock wave experiments to measure material properties and numerical simulations of planetary processes. We tackle a broad range of problems in planetary science by focusing on understanding the feedbacks between physical processes and changes in material properties.

We have a new model for the tidal evolution of the Moon, published in Nature. The model begins with a giant impact that tilts the Earth about 70 degrees from the ecliptic. Learn more about the Origin of the Moon. (Image from eskipaper.com)

May 22nd, 2017|Comments Off on Synestia, a New Type of Planetary Object

Graduate student Simon Lock and Sarah Stewart define and explain a new type of planetary object. A synestia is formed by a giant impact. Synestias are an important stage of terrestrial planet formation, leading to mixing [...]

November 16th, 2016|Comments Off on New Center for Frontiers in High Energy Density Science

U. California has funded a new center in high energy density science. This center is a collaboration between 5 UC campuses, LLNL and LANL. One of the themes of our center is material properties under [...]

October 31st, 2016|Comments Off on Tidal Evolution of the Moon: Earth started tilted over

Our new model for the tidal evolution of the moon was published online today in Nature: Tidal Evolution of the Moon from a high-obliquity, high-angular-momentum Earth. The tidal evolution is a big piece of the [...]

Building the New Lab

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